Divorced with 5 kids, and launching a startup, Karen Porter thinks that there are a lot easier things to do than run a business. Nine years later her business is worth 7 million plus, and she has a boatload of experience about what works and what doesn’t. She has very practical tips on what it takes to work through the tough bits of business.
Why you should listen:
How sharing problems helps the team step up and buy in
How to balance compassion for someone you fire and looking after the business
Why getting to know your numbers is a game changer
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Read More80% of people leave their jobs because of a poor manager. So says recruitment specialist, Sarah Rajic, co-founder of Capital Recruit and Staff Check, who has spoken to thousands of employers and candidates. She has seen when it goes right, and when it goes wrong. How do we make it better and unwind that terrible statistic?
Why you should listen:
How to set up team members for accountability and ownership of their own targets
Why communication and expectation management is the secret ingredient to sorting out issues before they escalate
How to keep developing as a business leader through expanding perspective
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Read MoreDo you struggle with nagging self doubts as a leader? Do you ask, ‘am I on the right track’? Ian Taylor, ED of Cotton Research and Development Corporation, asks these same questions, and has found a way to check his assumptions, and validate the strategy, even in the most uncertain times. A humble and genuine person, Ian shares rich insights about culture and innovation that are useful for all leaders.
Why you should listen:
Discover what kinds of questions help check assumptions about strategy in uncertainty
How to hold each other to account when it comes to upholding your values
How to seek points of view in an innovation hub
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Read MoreWhat kind of leadership style do you need to take a leap of faith? What strategies can you deploy when leading through massive uncertainty? What’s the most important thing to keep in mind when leading through change? Stuart Althaus is an experienced CEO and senior executive from a career that spans some forty years in the military, information and communication technology, and not for profit directorships. His hard-earned wisdom helps him to be an optimist even as we face down some of the biggest uncertainties of any generation.
Why you should listen:
How to put certainty in to uncertainty
What you need to have in place when assessing the risks in chaos
How to manage a passive aggressive employee
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Read MoreFinancial technology, along with other exponential services, is facilitating a contactless and virtual business experience. Through Covid19, some businesses are suffering and others are thriving. With FinTech (financial technology) entrepreneur Ian Parke, we take a look at the opportunities and mindset needed to ride the new wave of the new now.
Why you should listen:
Opportunities that are emerging through Covid19
Which business sectors are emerging stronger as a result
What trends will accelerate through this experience
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Read MoreAre you over it yet? This crisis seems to go on and on, unrelenting. Yet, as leaders there is no timeout or time off. We’ve got to keep on keeping on. I thought I’d give us a bit of a PAUSE button to reflect on what we can take from this experience. I also go over some key highlights of this past season on the podcast so you can get a concentrated dose of leadership insights that are useful for now.
Why you should listen:
Now’s the time to get really clear on what you want: here are some things to think about
Clarify what matters most: I share my list to inspire yours
Season round up: with insights on innovation from experts and authors that are essential tools for leading next through the pandemic
Sneak preview of interviews coming up over the coming months: Leadership on the ground with CEOs from not for profits, global IT companies, agribusiness, and a Vice Chancellor! So much goodness and rich insights coming up
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Read MoreChange, transformation, pivot, unprecedented... we’ve all heard the words. Do you feel excited or scared? Joe Jackman is a brand expert, strategist, and CEO of the world’s first Reinventionist company and he is excited about what opportunities are emerging. We talk about the changing nature of change itself, what is staying in the same and what will definitely not stay the same, and importantly what we can learn from organisations that ignored the risk of not changing.
Why you should listen:
Key cultural shifts that you need to know in order to reinvent your business
How the relationship between companies and brands is changing fundamentally - and why you need to be across this now
How strategy needs to not only be understood, but FELT if an organisation is to reinvent itself
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Read MoreCan you be commanding without doing command and control? Can you have authority without being authoritarian? What is the best way to avoid the traps of hubris and power? Brigadier Nick Jans OAM (retired) shares his wisdom and insight from a lifetime of leadership and learning in the military. He debunks some of the myths that exist around military leadership and culture, namely that there is a difference between being authoritative and authoritarian. Military leaders have an embedded culture where you ‘earn your spurs’ and win authority, not seize it.
Why you should listen:
The real mettle of leadership is what you do in easy times: win trust and compliance through building relationships
How to avoid the trap of “believing in your own legend”
What the military builds into its leadership systems to cut abuses of power and hubris that the business world can adopt
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Read MoreThe test of a leader is often in times of crisis. What if you had to deal with disaster compounded by disaster? Three bushfires including the most devastating one of 2020, followed immediately by Covid19. This is exactly what Mayor Kristy McBain has faced since first being elected the youngest councillor in Bega Valley Shire at the age of 29, and then as the youngest Mayor in 2016. She shares her biggest leadership insights.
Why you should listen:
How to find opportunity after a crisis - so relevant to all businesses right now
Why communication is still the biggest challenge even in the age of social media and the internet
The secret of successful representation: ‘you can never lose points for listening’
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Read MoreOnly 20% of teams are operating at their full potential! What gets in their way? Poor emotional intelligence. Author Kerry Goyette shares her research and experience when it comes to building high performing teams that can collaborate effectively, especially through crisis situations. Plus we dive into the trickier people stuff issues: dealing with narcissists, psychopaths, and power hungry leaders.
Why you should listen:
Learn why some people triumph from adversity and others don’t and what you can do to be on a winning side
How to label and overcome the 6 key derailers
How to develop self awareness in yourself and others
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Read MoreWhat makes a great leadership performance? What aspect of leadership is performance? If a great performance that is genuine can inspire us, how can we do more of that as leaders? Diana Theodores is an expert in theatre skills for business. She shares what she believes is the natural intersection of performance skills and leadership in this deep dive interview.
Why you should listen:
Discover specific theatre practices that liberate your authentic voice
Learn how the simple steps of being intentional and acting allow us to become what we practice, well before we have belief
Why being authentic is not who you are habitually, but the full expression of all aspects and all roles of yourself
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Read MoreWhere are you playing it safe in your life? What is the emotional landscape of your life? What is your fear costing you in life and in leadership? These are some hard hitting questions from coach, author and speaker extraordinaire, Margie Warrell. You’ll be mesmerized by her energy and passion for emboldening people to live with courage.
Why you should listen:
Leadership is not about a title or position, it’s about how we show up every day being our best selves, and backing ourselves to make a contribution
How men and women need to do some deep work to buck social trends - playing it small for women, being more open-hearted for men
How to confront the parts of ourselves that we bury when we judge others - and what it can do for us
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Read MoreChris Griffiths was an unlikely leader, bullied as a kid, who went on to create a highly successful tech company, sell it, and then lose all his wealth on a bad investment. He reinvented himself and built a number of successful enterprises at the intersection of creativity and technology. Chris has a wealth of experience and practical advice on how to innovate better and avoid cognitive bias traps. A must listen for those interested in innovation and creativity, and leadership built out of the ashes of failure.
Why you should listen:
How traditional to-do lists are too linear and not effective for helping us prioritise - and how we can make them visual instead (hint: this is a game changer)
How he had the opportunity to run a brainstorming session with a group of Nobel Laureates at the invitation of his Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan at the Petra Nobel Conference and why it totally flopped! (turns out smart people have some significant cognitive biases)
4 definable steps to innovation that avoid cognitive bias traps
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Read MoreAre you undergoing a big transformation project? Are you in charge of leading a significant change in systems or processes or structures? Then best be across some of the core fundamentals of doing it right and avoid common myths about change. Change leader expert Julia Steel shares her insights from her own lived experience.
Why you should listen:
Learn the 3 Cs of buy-in that go straight to the heart of neuroscience
How to build collective influence so you stay out of the command control paradigm
Why it’s a total misconception that people resist change and what to focus on instead
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Read MoreDo you have fear of public speaking? How about a fear of failure? Do you lead a team of diverse personalities, and some big ones that are more like divas? Radio Host extraordinaire Erik Johnson shares his leadership nuggets in a career that celebrates the people stuff.
Why you should listen:
Learn how to deal with a diva
Discover how to wrestle well with the fear of failure
Learn how to avoid the classic Achiever trap that can lead to burnout and dissatisfaction
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Read MoreThe coronavirus experience is unprecedented in our time for leaders. How do we make our way through the uncertainty and fear? Transformational leadership expert Barry Pogorel and I talk about there is no ‘going back to normal’. We need instead to create a new normal. This offers huge opportunities! In our energising and uplifting conversation, we get down to brass tacks on what leaders need to do to start crafting their own new normal.
Why you should listen:
If you need to know where to start in dealing with uncertainty and acknowledge what is here right now
To understand why taking a stand is the most powerful thing you can do to catalyse a new possible future
To recognise the power of questions to drive new possibilities
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Read MoreNot-for-profits are too important to fail. They offer critical services to the most vulnerable. In robust economies, NFPs struggle with business resilience at the best of times. In crisis? The stakes can mean do or die, on all fronts. Toni Pergolin is CEO and President of Bancroft, one of the largest healthcare providers in New Jersey. She led a huge turnaround in an organisation that was facing significant financial difficulties. Ten years later, Bancroft is now thriving and has doubled in size. In our interview she shares her insights and priorities in leading through this turnaround, and what is practical and applicable to NFPs and leaders in any business today.
Why you should listen:
If you are a CEO shouldering responsibility for dealing with a crisis and how you can deal with the pressure
To learn lessons from those organisations who don’t make it and help you to make decisions faster
Help you decide what you can do right now, today, to help chart the course through uncertain times
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Read MoreUncertainty, fear, and unprecedented circumstances. What can we do? There are things we can do right now to lead ourselves and help others. We can also start to navigate the ship through uncharted waters - we can craft a better future, now. We look at how to frame our challenge, how to look after ourselves, how to deal with amygdala hijack responses, confront the brutal truth of the pandemic, and then start to shape what’s next.
Why you should listen:
Tips to look after yourself: increase (or introduce) meditation, get fresh air and sunshine, stop doing stuff that affects your immune system, create connection and build interactions.
Be mindful of the uncertainty effect: survival mode and panic buying, distraction, short term memory suppression, irritability, adrenaline and getting hyped up.
How to look after your people: online collaboration tools, instigate virtual social interactions like online scrabble or virtual happy hour, support those who live alone the most - think plants and pets, share stories of generosity and appreciation, set up regular daily and weekly routines for remote teams
Confront the brutal truth: the future progress of the pandemic effect
Start creating a new normal: we aren’t going back to the way things were
Make a stand and a declaration: what kind of future do you want to create?
Lead with questions: Share interesting questions (not answers) to spark possibilities!
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Read MoreWant to be seen as the best candidate for your next CEO role? Want your brand to stand out? Want to build trust with your consumers? Want to build engagement with your staff? The magic solution is Connected Leadership - how to create connections through a personal communication plan. Connected Leadership expert Mel Kettle walks us through key components of building a digital presence that builds trust and credibility.
Why you should listen:
If you need help with where to start in building your personal communication plan
If you need help with how to systemise listening to help build a stronger connection with a broad cohort of stakeholders
If you need help with how to build interesting content and stories no matter how boring the topic may seem at first glance
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Read MoreDo you have too much on your plate? Looking for ways to cut costs and boost productivity? Do you have 26 projects going at once? Ishan Galapathy shares his approach to solving these chronic workplace stressors.
Why you should listen:
Learn how to qualify your problems before you set about solving them
Learn how to identify the four types of problems and how to resolve them
Learn how to ask better questions to solve complex problems
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